RANDOM GRACE, JULY 9-15, 2007
Monday, July 9
“…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 2:5 NIV
Individually and collectively God’s will concerning us is that we should become a part of His priesthood. When we become His children, He begins the process in us, it is not something that happens overnight. The goal is that as the process matures, we learn to offer spiritual sacrifices which God will accept. No, not like the sacrifices which were offered in the old testament, but sacrifices which are acceptable to God in the New Testament, ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ and offered in His name. Our maturity process in the priesthood will also lead us to recognize those kind of sacrifices which are unacceptable to the God we serve. We learn these as we cultivate sensitivity and obedience to the Holy Spirit, who leads us. Are you responding to His leadership?
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Tuesday, July 10
“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”
Proverbs 21:3 NIV
As important as sacrifice is, it only becomes useful because our obedience has failed and still fails. Where there is perfect obedience, sacrifice will be unnecessary. Sacrifice is actually costly obedience that results from failed obedience of the past. Getting it right the first time is always better than having to make corrections.
Before we think of the holy priesthood we must be a part of the holy brotherhood- the group of believers that are committed to doing the will of God. What is God asking you to do today? Do it and save yourself some costly sacrifices in the future.
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Wednesday, July 11
“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Hosea 6:6
Sacrifice exists as a tool to manage failed relationship. Hosea 6:6 breaks down the essentials of ideal relationship that God desires more than sacrifice. Mercy affects our relationship with fellow men. The merciful is extra considerate, he easily forgives, empathizes with others. He fulfills the law of love. He will not need to offer sacrifices unto God or men for his failure in his relationship to other men.
Acknowledgment of God goes beyond mere lip service. It is fully manifest in our obedience. When we do what God demands, we are confirming His lordship, kingship and Messiahship in our life. We are declaring that He is God, the unquestionable, one worthy of our worship through obedience. When we make ends meet through ways that are unacceptable to God and then offer sacrifices to seek His face and blessings, we insult His Godhood.
Giving God and men their rightful places in our life is more acceptable than making sacrifices when things have gone wrong.
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Thursday, July 12
“To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Mark 12:33 NIV
Jesus reminds us that love is a more important form of sacrifice than burnt animals or fragrances and material sacrifices. During Jesus time, the worship of God had been reduced to burnt offerings and sacrifices. As we put God and others first, true love leads us to make willful sacrifices on a daily basis, before it becomes a necessity for our survival.
The passions of our heart, the thoughts of our mind and all the actions to which we commit our physical bodies should reveal our love for God.
The triune God demands that we love and express our love to Him with all of our being. He also demands equity in our relationship with fellow men- that we do unto them as we want them to do unto us, love them as we would like to be loved.
The self sacrifice that accompanies love is of greater value in God’s sight than any other thing we may sacrifice to Him. ____________________________________________________________
Friday, July 13
“I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”
Philippians 4:18 NIV
Once the foundations of obedience and love have been laid, we also need to cultivate the habit of giving, especially to facilitate the work of God and assist the needy.
Paul points out that resources committed to the spread of the gospel and assistance of the saints are like resources used to purchase and burn fragrant offerings unto God. He accepts such sacrifices, because they are pleasing to Him. As obedient children who love our Father in heaven it should delight our heart to offer such a sacrifice which will please Him.
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Saturday, July 14
“He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Psalm 50:23 NIV
Giving thanks is one of the easiest and most profitable sacrifices we may offer to God. God feels honored when we give thanks and that encourages Him to deliver us from our predicaments.
It is aptly captured in Psalm 50:23 which is one of the gateways from the old testament to the new. Praise prepares the way. There are many forms of salvation. Family, friends, mentors, nation, church etc. may have their own form of assistance in place, they are good if God chooses to work through them. But there is a salvation which is not to be duplicated or found anywhere else. The name of Jesus means “Jehovah is salvation.” Ultimately God was saying that He will reveal the salvation which He has prepared in Jesus Christ to the one who sacrifices thank offerings. If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed!
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Sunday, July 15
“May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.”
Psalm 20:3 NIV
David knew that a sacrifice is only of any worth when it is accepted. Cain discovered the loss an unacceptable sacrifice brings.
What a beautiful prayer! What better way to end this series on “sacrifice”? Sometimes we think our sacrifices go unnoticed- the internal struggles to make our thoughts and feelings submissive to Him, the songs of praise, the gifts, applications of skill and talents, fasting and the time we “burn” in His service. May God bring them all into remembrance and fill them up with the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Having become rooted in love and obedience towards Him, “May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” Amen
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This article has been contributed by ‘Yemi Ogunjimi.
To find out more about him please follow this link
http://blogtheword.wordpress.com/about/
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